2016 Q Lab residency with filmmaker Sam James

As part of my doctoral research, I undertook a residency with filmmaker Sam James at the Joan Sutherland Mullins Theatre, where the canopy was the central piece. The two- week residency investigated the theatrical use of projections of my art on the canopy.
The concept of the canopy is drawn from the temporary roadside shrines characteristic of religious festivals in Kolkata. As an installation, it was also used as a fundamental aspect of three previous performance installations: The Female Pope (Sydney, 2013) Kali Madonna (Village Bizarre, Sydney 2014), and UFO (Unidentified Female Object) a site-specific work performed as part of Siteworks at the Bundanon Trust in 2015.

The square shape of the canopy is the basis for all yantras and depicts the foundation of the cosmos itself. My exegesis focuses on this prop in detail.